When he's not traveling
the world in search of
inspiration for his textile designs,
John Robshaw heads home to a haven of exotic
treasures in Manhattan

Designer John Robshaw's New York Home

Designer John Robshaw's New York Home

The textiles designer John Robshaw has a knack for finding unique and affordable spaces in which to live and work. In the mid-1990s, fresh out of art school, he set up his painting studio in the squash court of an abandoned Wall Street men’s club. He then moved to Bangkok, where he rented a traditional Thai wood house. By 2001, he was back in Manhattan, residing in an East Village tenement walk-up, and designing hand-block-printed Indian bedding out of a 1920s office building in Chelsea.

Robshaw, who has matinée-idol looks and a low-key demeanor, travels to places like Vietnam, Bolivia, and Zimbabwe to collaborate with local artisans on fabrics that combine traditional techniques with fresh pattern and color. But he is also a sharp businessman. His indigo bedding, Afghan tribal pillows, and cotton ikats have become status symbols for the fashionable set—including the California decorator Michael S. Smith, who used Robshaw’s bedding in Sasha’s and Malia’s bedrooms in the Obama White House.

Designer John Robshaw's New York Home

Designer John Robshaw's New York Home

Seven years ago, Robshaw finally felt financially secure enough to purchase his own home, but was faced with sticker shock. Priced out of most of Manhattan, he was considering Brooklyn when two architect friends invited him to see their apartment in a high rise on the Lower East Side. Robshaw discovered a vibrant enclave of kosher bakeries, Latino grocery stores, and Asian restaurants. Uptown, the view of the East River from the couple’s apartment would have commanded a fortune. But here, apartments were selling for half the price of comparable spaces in the East Village.